The WikiTree Honor Code

I will admit that I rarely use collaborative genealogy sites. Nothing against the sites themselves–it just does not often fit into my research plan. First, I have little time to research my own family and do not use online family trees for clients unless I am completely out of other options. Second, the online trees just don’t generally meet the standards of proof that I try to meet.

One of the leading collaborative sites in the market today–WikiTree–has recently instituted an “Honor Code.” This Honor Code is the first attempt of which I am aware that tries to bring research standards to online family trees. This nine-point Code addresses ethical concerns such as courtesy and privacy, and legal concerns such as copyright. In terms of research standards, it includes the following important point:

I would like to commend the WikiTree team for making this first step in supporting genealogy research standards. I would also like to invite other collaborative genealogy sites to follow their lead to help make online genealogies more reliable in the future. This will do much to raise the overall quality of online genealogies.

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I don’t typically use online trees either but I really like the idea of Wiki Tree’s honor code because it does a valuable service in the area of education. It is perhaps the first and only site of this kind that communicates to new or casual genealogists that accuracy is important and that NOT sharing inaccurate information is the responsibility of every genealogist, casual or not. I hope at the very least it will give genealogisst pause to wonder and ask where their information came from.

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